The recent groundbreaking of the new North Springs High School marks a victory for Sandy Springs and its students, teachers, and parents, who have fought for years to secure a new facility.
For over a decade, I have poured my time and passion into improving North Springs and organizing the grassroots organization Citizens for a New North Springs High School alongside Cheryl Barlow, Betty Klein, Linda Trickey, and Sandra Jewell.
Together, we worked tirelessly, refusing to take no for an answer. Our persistence finally paid off with the promise and groundbreaking of the beautiful new school that Sandy Springs deserves.
Now, we face a new battle as Fulton County Schools is considering closing Spalding Drive Elementary School due to low enrollment.
We must fight once again.
Declining enrollment and aging housing
We cannot afford to lose one of our city’s seven elementary schools and risk our children being redistricted to other schools. Redistricting does more than just disrupt our children’s activities and friendships. Research from the American Educational Research Journal shows that kids who are shuffled around schools have a lower rate of academic achievement.
As a Sandy Springs City Councilwoman, I believe the best strategy for increasing enrollment in our schools is to attract more young families to our city. One key area to focus on is revitalizing our housing options. By reassessing some of the aging apartment complexes in Sandy Springs, we can unlock opportunities for redevelopment. These properties could better serve our community by creating modern, affordable housing that would attract families. This influx of families would help fill our schools, ensuring our city’s future remains vibrant for future generations.
One example is The Reserve at Ridgewood, a sprawling old apartment complex on Roswell Road, just a few miles east of Spalding Drive Elementary. It sits on over 24 acres of land.
Atlanta News First reported that last summer, a couple’s bedroom ceiling collapsed on them while they were sleeping one night. A water leak at the property likely caused the collapse.
“From the first day we moved in, it’s been a nightmare,” the resident told the television news station. “This is just not the place to live.”
Between July 2023 and May 2024, The Reserve at Ridgewood received $46,000 in fire department and code violations from the City Of Sandy Springs, including failure to correct electrical hazards, sprinkler system, and fire hydrant maintenance issues.
We are failing our residents by allowing these living situations in our city.
The false promise of band-aid solutions
Now, a new plan for the property raises significant concerns for me. Pedcor Investments, an Indiana-based developer that owns The Reserve at Ridgewood, is seeking up to $55 million in federally tax-exempt revenue bonds from the Fulton County Development Authority, along with federal and state low-income housing tax credits, to rehabilitate 180 apartment units and reconstruct 6-fire damaged units into affordable housing. In addition, they have applied to the State of Georgia (DCA) for 98 units to accept housing choice vouchers.
According to the proforma, only a fraction of the investment will be allocated to actual renovations and reconstruction, while the majority will go toward fees and acquisition—even though Pedcor already owns the property. Furthermore, the project’s mortgage will be insured by HUD for a 40-year term, yet the apartments are already 48 years old, built in 1980, and only lightly rehabilitated in 2021/22. To make matters worse, renovations aren’t expected to begin until 2026.
While I fully support the need for more diverse housing in Sandy Springs, especially affordable options for young families and seniors, I cannot support minimal investments in a 1980s-era complex with decades of deferred maintenance. With such a low level of investment, it’s unlikely this project will bring the meaningful improvements our community needs. Affordable housing does not have to mean low quality; several new construction projects in Georgia and across the country showcase well-designed, modern, and energy-efficient housing units.
Meanwhile, According to apartment data tracker, ALN, Metro Atlanta is one of the most oversupplied apartment markets in the country and will remain so in the near term. Many of the apartment complexes in Sandy Springs are owned by out-of-state investors who care more about their investments than the city they are invested in.
I analyzed six aging apartment complexes in Sandy Springs, consisting of 1,900 deteriorating units spread over 220 acres. Imagine the possibilities for this land; it could be transformed into new, engaged communities with quality apartments, single-family homes for middle-income families, and much-needed senior housing.
The Marietta success story
The plan I am proposing is not unrealistic. In fact, our neighboring cities have successfully pursued similar strategies to repurpose their outdated apartments. In Marietta, Mayor Steve Tumlin spearheaded an effort to redevelop a stretch of Franklin Road and demolish a glut of blighted properties. The school board supported this development, which it saw as an opportunity to improve school performance and graduation rates.
The project has been an economic development boon for Marietta . It attracted Atlanta United’s training center and the Home Depot Technology Center. From 2013 to 2022, the net tax digest value of the Franklin Gateway corridor grew 110%, to $772.1 million from $343.7 million, according to the Marietta Daily Journal. The citywide tax digest grew by 54%, the newspaper reported.
The MDJ said vacancy levels across all property types plummeted. The most dramatic drop was in office vacancy, which dropped from 44.2% to 5.4%.
Most importantly, crime incidents decreased from 565 in 2013 to 215 in 2022.
The most critical step we can take to guarantee Sandy Springs’s most prosperous future is ensuring that our schools continue to welcome and educate our students and not close their doors. Our future depends on it.
Spalding Drive Elementary must stay open
Rather than closing schools, we should focus on growing our student population by attracting new, young families to Sandy Springs. Transforming outdated apartment complexes into modern, high-quality housing will not only improve living conditions but will also help us maintain strong, thriving schools.
The post Sandy Springs at a crossroads: Saving our schools, revitalizing our community appeared first on Rough Draft Atlanta .
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